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User blog:GuillermoIE/AMA
For the sake of a reference point, I've compiled a list of questions and answers from the anniversary AMA. These are the questions I could find relating to behind-the-scenes work and plot details, with minimal editing. Q: When you set out to tell the story of Horizon, Zero Dawn, what was your mission or end-goal for the players to take away from it, to know that you could say that "We delivered this message to everyone?" A: This is a cool question. HZD gave us an amazing opportunity to make the game we wanted, and PlayStation was always supportive. In addition to making it a kick-ass story about machines and tribes and epic threats to the world, we wanted it to be personal. We wanted it to be about bonds of love that cross generations, ties that can survive any destructive force. And on a very basic level, we wanted it to be about a woman's search for her mother. We hope that came through, and from the response, it seems like it has. ---- Q: How did Ted Faro obtain Omega Clearance? This is a question many players have thought about, and it is never explained in the story how Ted Faro obtained Omega Clearance. There is a datalog that mentions Ted wanting a back door into GAIA Prime, and fan theories believe Omega Clearance is that back door. but I am curious to how Omega Clearance truly came to be. A: Oh, that's a great question! Ted had Omega Clearance created for himself as a secret back door to Horizon Zero Dawn. Not even Sobeck knew about it! ---- Q: What was the biggest challenge doing the voice acting for Aloy? And was there a moment for you like "whoa...this is actually happening!" ? Thanks so much :D A: The biggest challenge was probably making sure that we allowed Aloy a rich emotional landscape, while also maintaining continuity within dialogue trees. By that I mean: you couldn't have Aloy really sweet and warm in one branch and then really angry and fiery in another because we had no idea what order the player would select the dialogue options in. Every piece of dialogue had to feel like it could naturally lead into another without a big jarring emotional dissonance. And the moment that I went "whoa this is actually happening!" was probably the first time I saw fully rendered gameplay. The game was stunning and it struck me that this was gonna be a big deal Q: Hi! Do you think Aloy will ever be able to tell other people about Zero Dawn? It must lonely if only CYAN and that poophead Sylens knows about it. Also, Horizon and Life is Strange are the only games I have platinum trophies for on my PS4, but that was probably a coincidence. A: That's a great question! And my thoughts exactly. I think it must be very lonely. Maybe there are other folks like her or Sylens around? Or folks that aren't quite as knowledgeable as them, but perhaps still have an inkling that the spiritual justifications prescribed by the tribes aren't quite accurate? Honestly, I hope she can find some people to talk to. I worry about her feeling lonely :( ---- Q: Hello! Thank you for taking time to answer questions in an AMA. I have a list of questions from a fellow admin, Lacrossedaemon, of the Horizon Zero Dawn Wikia. It’s quite a lot, so I will be posting them in multiple replies to this comment. For Ashly Burch: # I read in a Kotaku article that you and Lance Reddick were never in the recording studio at the same time. Do you think the ability to work around schedules for voice actors and actresses like this is good for the industry or is some important chemistry lost due to it? Granted I never would’ve guessed that that was the case as I believe a Sylens and Aloy's interactions were the best in the game but do you feel the emotion and dialogue would’ve been even better if you and Lance had been working face-to-face? # Did you have to do any special training or studying in order to get ready for the role? We hear a lot about movie stars preparing for films and how rigorous that is. I assume it’s a bit different for voice acting but did you read any ethnographical or sociological works or learn a skill like archery in order to better embody Aloy's character? # Has portraying her changed you in anyway as a person? A: # At the time of the recording of the main game, Lance and I had never worked together directly. But I actually had the pleasure of doing a dual recording session with him for the Frozen Wilds expansion. It was a lot of fun for me, because I definitely felt like the heat and tension of that dynamic was more palpable with both of us in the room. I'll say that part of being a voice actor is understanding how to create a full performance in isolation, and I think that many extremely compelling performances have been recorded that way. That said, I personally love the opportunity to work with other actors. We did all of the performance capture for the DLC in Los Angeles and I worked directly with Necar (Ourea) and Richard (Aratak) for several weeks. We were able to build a rapport, really sink deeper into our characters, and I think the energy created from interacting face to face allowed for some really special moments that wouldn't have happened if we all recorded separately. # Now that you've said that, I really wish I had started taking archery lessons, haha. I didn't do any specific preparation for the main game. Voice acting differs from on camera performance in that way. The benefit is that creating Aloy was an extremely collaborative process and I was able to work directly with the team and my director Jamie Mortallero to help shape her. # I'm so glad that you asked that because the answer is: yes, completely. Being Aloy has made me a stronger, more self-possessed performer and woman. This is the cheesiest thing you will ever hear me say (read me type?), but I genuinely feel like we both gave life to each other. ---- Q: Did Rost have access to something like a wet nurse while Aloy was a baby? A: We get this question a lot! I think there's something about Rost's love for Aloy that makes people think about the details. All I can say is, it seems like he must have some kind of help, right? ---- Q: What kind of inspiration you took to write the story of the game and the DLC? A: We had many inspirations, but here are two that might surprise you. For the main story, we took inspiration from biblical epics like Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments, not because Aloy is religious in any specific way, but because we realized that there were parallels between what we wanted to do and some of those epic heroes. As for the Frozen Wilds, we were inspired by the film 2010. Can you guess why? ---- Q: Is there much of Elisabet's backstory we didn't get to see, or has most of her story been told? A: For Lis, and for other characters, there's more backstory than we could tell in Horizon Zero Dawn. The team hopes to dig into more at some point! ---- Q: Ashly, is there something of your personality in Aloy? Have you improvised something when you were recording or doing the mo-cap? A: My sardonic humor and my courage are definitely in Aloy. And I think I may have tried some different versions of lines during records, but I think any major changes were done in conversation with Ben or Jonah, our cinematics director. ---- Q: Minerva is the only subroutine AI that is not in the Greek Pantheon (her closest being Athena). Was there any reason for her being the Roman Goddess? A: Wow, I like the attention to detail with this question! The real answer is that we simply liked the sound of "Minerva" better than "Athena." ---- Q: What does Aloy think of herself now that she helped save the world (as they know it)? A: That's such an interesting question! You know, I think Aloy has some processing to do. Obviously she was always ostracized from others, but now the knowledge she has puts her at an even greater distance from her friends and allies. Strangely, the person she could probably relate to most is Sylens, but he's kind of an asshole. So I can imagine she's relieved that the immediate threat is gone, deeply intrigued to learn more about this world and its history, and also maybe a little lonely. ---- Q: Horizon has a good variety of machines in the world, but I've been wondering. Were there any machine concepts or ideas that didn't make it to the full game? A: Yes! The Frostclaw in the Frozen Wilds was based on a bear-like machine that was cut from HZD. There was also a fiery bird machine that didn't make The Cut. See what I did there? ---- Q: Ben, how difficult was to write a story and coordinate with the different development teams? Is the process much different from writing a novel or a movie? A: It is indeed difficult because different teams move at different paces, and sometimes we have to pitch story ideas without knowing design elements. So in that sense, it is very different than a novel or movie. ---- Q: Did you ever hit a point in the writing process where ideas really started to flow and you got a feeling that "okay THIS is Horizon Zero Dawn." ? A: Yes! Writing became much easier when certain design elements clicked. Once we understood the basic "verbs" of the game... fighting, traversal, investigation, conversation, crafting, etc., we were able to pitch story elements that really fit. This was especially true of side quests, which were often centered around specific gameplay scenarios. ---- Q: How did you decide when to make key reveals? I loved the slow trickle of information regarding what happened to Earth in the past. A: This was one of the hardest things to do when it came to writing the story. The writing team thought about it a lot. The quest design team thought about it a lot. We had so much backstory! But we also knew we had to create a VERY compelling reason for our machines to exist, and Zero Dawn grew from there! ---- Q: What is the transition from writing to seeing the final result like for this game? Do you find stuff designers did or however that made you go “why didn’t I think of that?” Or “woah that’s different than how I imagined!” What and why? A: We encountered variations between our intentions and how designers interpreted them all the time, and vice versa. Game development is defined by constant conversations between teams. It's very hard, because you have hundreds of talented people all working at once. But it is so rewarding when a designer, animator, artist, or voice actor (Go Ash!) brings something to your idea that you didn't think of yourself. We never could have imagined the look on six-year-old Aloy's face when she sees the "Happy Birthday" hologram. That came from Kevin, our Lead Animator. Moments like those are gold! ---- Q: No doubt, the writing on a project like HZD must have gone through several different iterations and tinkerings before settling on the final product. In that regard, what's the biggest or coolest cut story element or plotline that you wish could have been included in the released game? A: This question made me take a walk down memory lane! We had a quest line that had Aloy visit the Oseram territory of the Claim at one point. She was definitely going to shake things up a bit. ---- Q: If Frozen Wilds wasn’t the only idea for a DLC expansion, what were at least (if possible) two other ideas you guys were pitching? A: I'm always happy when The Frozen Wilds gets some love! Here's the truth: We all wanted to focus on the Banuk, largely because we felt like they didn't get enough screen time in the main game. Plus, their territory implied extreme danger, which is exactly what we want Aloy to experience! So the concept came together really fast. ---- Q: What other names did Aloy have before you settled with Aloy? A: Aloy's name was present from the beginning. At one point, we decided to try out some others. I pitched "Aera," which I liked because it implied the passage of time. In the end, we all decided that Aloy was best. ---- Q: For Ashly: what do you believe Aloy's opinion would be on a team member 'actually helping the whole trip' for the co-op idea, if it had been implemented in the game? Given Aloy's biting comments to Sylens for largely remaining afar and not in the thick of the battle, I can't help but wonder if she would really enjoy the company or go solo the whole way. A: Interesting question! I think Aloy definitely prefers to go solo. Even with someone she generally likes, I think she might feel that they would hamper her more than help her. The only person I could see her teaming up with psuedo-long term is Erend, and even then, I think their conflict styles are probably too different for her taste. ---- Q: First off, I love all of your work. You really bring the characters to life and I have found myself crying on more than one occasion by your performance. My question for you is, who would you personally ship Aloy with? A: You know, Ben and I have actually talked about this because so many fans ship with her with different characters.I think the only person that makes sense for her is probably Petra. There's an age gap, but Petra is the only one who would respect and understand her need for full autonomy and frequent excursions on super dangerous missions haha. I also don't think it would be a particularly intimate relationship, and I doubt that Petra could stay monogamous. But I actually don't think I would personally ship her with anyone that we've met yet. Aloy's kinda got a lot on her plate, I don't think dating is high on the agenda. ---- Q: For Ben: What was the challenge writing for this game given the set universe and cultures inhabited by it's characters? Was there ever an "Oh the Carja would never do that with Aloy" note? A: We wrote a LOT of material about every tribe. We also acted like "lore cops" during development. I hope the quest designers will forgive us someday! There were lots of times when we thought about what the Carja would or wouldn't do, but they were easy compared to the Nora! I mean, the Nora won't even let their own people leave the Sacred Land to go on vacation! That, btw, makes designing quests for them pretty hard! ---- Q: Who was your favourite character to write concerning the story and who would you like to explore more on in further content? A: I enjoyed writing Erend the most. What a lug! I also loved the way John Gonzalez wrote Sylens, Ben Schroder wrote Nil, and Anne Toole wrote Talanah. ---- Q: When you first started preparing for the role of Aloy were there any other characters from previous games who you drew inspiration from? Or was this a completely organic take on her portrayal? A: I thought about Jennifer Hale a lot during recording. I loved her so much in Mass Effect and they're similar roles insofar as the demands of story and gameplay. ---- Q: How was the whole creative process of making HZD and what all did it entail? Also, loved the writing and performances in the game, great job! A: The creative process of making Horizon Zero Dawn was HUGE and hard to describe, but I do want to focus on a big part of it: Ash. When we heard her voice, we knew we had found our Aloy. She brought a dimension to the part that we hadn't anticipated, and it helped us boost the writing and the character's personality. She consistently brought more to the lines in the booth than we knew was there. It is an amazing help to have an actor that works as a creative partner, not just a voice. ---- Q: Are there directions you would like Aloy to develop in as a character in future sequels? A: I definitely think it would be interesting to see how the knowledge and revelations of the first game affect her as a character. Does she become more closed off, maybe even resentful of the tribes? Does she try to find a way to connect to others despite the dissonance in understanding? What does that cost her? ---- Q: What arc did you find more connection with in your acting, the "modern day" tribal war story, or the "old world" HZD story? A: I definitely felt the most connected to Aloy, but voicing Elisabet was also a blast. It was fun to go back and forth between those eras. ---- Q: How did the Faro Robots Eat? In the game we see them release a black cloud that dissolves trees before vacuuming it up. What is this black cloud? Are they using nano-bots to consume biomass? A: In a word, yes! ---- Q: How exactly writing the story for a game is different from writing a novel or a script for a movie? A: This is a great question that really needs a long answer, but I'll give you the short version: Imagine writing a 5000 page screenplay with a small group while 200 talented people are out there building sets and special effects for you... all at the same time. It takes an amazing amount of coordination. Thank All-Mother that we had Producers! ---- Q: Is there some part of the story that was incredibly difficult to write or fit into the narrative, which paid off really well at the end? Also, which part of the writing are you most proud of? A: Great question. As a team, we were most proud ofSpoiler John Gonzalez, our Narrative Director, really nailed that moment. Two other scenes I personally liked were with Aloy and Erend, after the quest "The Sun Shall Fall" and right before the final battle. ---- Q: # What lines took the most attempts to get right? Were there any that you adlibed? # Is there anything you dislike or would change about your character? A: # Remember when Aloy says "with you standing guard, I figured it was the latrine"? Holy hell that took me SO MANY TAKES to get out. I kept stumbling on "I figured it was the latrine." I think we may have had to move on and come back to it. It haunts me still. # Honestly, not at all. I adore Aloy. ---- Q: I read that you helped do some input in the TF2 character Miss. Pauling and Life is Strange: Before the Storm's Chloe Price. Have you put any of your creative ideas into Aloy as a character? A: Creating Aloy has been a really collaborative process, and I definitely feel that the team has been really welcoming of my opinions and input on the character. With the DLC, I had the opportunity to talk to Ben a lot about the story and Aloy's views on the different characters, particularly her relationship with Ourea. That was an awesome experience. ---- Q: Was the decision to make the main character a female something that was decided from the start, or was it something you decided later? A: It was decided from the start. Both Guerrilla and PlayStation were enthusiastic about the decision from Day One. ---- Category:Blog posts